


We Are Tonight

by isitsuperfly



Category: Sex Education (TV)
Genre: F/M, Post Season 2, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:07:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25875628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isitsuperfly/pseuds/isitsuperfly
Summary: Set weeks after the ending of S2.
Relationships: Otis Milburn/Maeve Wiley
Comments: 8
Kudos: 79





	1. Chapter 1

The night has already arrived. The place is nice. Could be called even beautiful. Summer has come. The year of school is over. Vacations are on the way. Guess summertime was finally here.  
A huge celebration was on.  
The school, with the helps of founders of parents and politicians of the city, had rented a beautiful small castle next to the city, open to reservations for special occasions.  
It was, after all, a special occasion.  
It had been a very hard year and they wanted good publicity for the school after the fiasco with the headmaster at the Show, celebrated a few weeks before.  
Fathers and mothers had been invited too. It was a special ball or a high party, like it appeared to be destined to high society party. 

Maeve took another deep breath. The last thing she wanted right now was to be right here. She hated this. Hated she had to play a farce. Hated that she felt she didn't belong here. It looked like a high society high party. She hated that stuff. She was beginning to regret assisting to this stupid act. For the life of her, she couldn't remember why exactly she had chose to go. Temporary insanity, that's what she was blaming.  
Or maybe the fact that Otis could be here... No, stop, she told herself. She was definitely not going to talk to him. Or see him. Or kiss him. Oh, but he had such gorgeous lips...  
No! What the hell was she thinking!  
She needed to move on. She needed to focus on herself. No boys. No nothing. She didn't want anyone messing her head or what was worse, her heart. She was just fine on her own. She didn't raise high walls around her for nothing. And she certainly didn't spend years of rising high walls just for Otis or anyone to bring them down and leave her with nothing but bad grass around her. No. She didn't needed him. At all. Yes, it would be for the best.  
That's what she tried to convince herself of.  
Maeve hasn't contacted with Otis for several weeks now. It had been hard. So hard. Actually, so very fucking hard.  
She had kept herself isolated, avoiding and ignoring his phone calls (and why was he calling her so much anyway, the last thing she knew is that he made himself very clear the last times they spoke, from his text message to the party, so no thank you). She had avoided him in school too, running from him when she saw him in the halls.  
She had seen the look of disappointment and sadness on his face when he tried to come to her and she turned her back from him, running from him. At first she wondered why he looked so sad, so empty, so broken, when she turned away from him, and he looked at her with his eyes sad and his face weary. But she didn't allow herself to think about it.  
But as she stood here, in a corner, with no one by her side, she soon found herself missing him. She felt alone. She missed him. Just him. His presence was intoxicating. She missed his stupid little sounds that he made when he was scared or afraid. She missed his smile. She missed his eyes. Those piercing blue bright eyes that she could never forget. Those blue eyes of his, like the sky was reflected on them, were on her soul. She missed the way his eyes scanned her face when she talked to him. She missed his words, listening to him as he talked. She missed the way he cared for her, took care for her. No one before had cared for her or took care for her the way he did. That surprised her and intrigued her. She missed his perfect, beautiful details he had for her, such as his letter, the award he stole just for her, the diary as a gift on her birthday... No one had done this for her. Those things showed how much he cared for her and appreciated her. They were so beautiful things he did for her. He was so beautiful.  
Stop, Maeve, that's enough, her mind reminded her.  
Oh by it was true, Otis was beautiful. And he was so nice, and so caring, and so kind. And yes, he made mistakes, but still we are all humans. We all make mistakes. She also makes mistakes. She too made mistakes. No one is perfect. And that doesn't mean he's less incredible for making mistakes. He's amazing. She understands this now. At first she had been hurt, confused, focus only one side of the equation. Her side. But, later, she understood. She understood him better. But maybe things were late now. 

She felt tired. Looking at the people, the students which were wearing their best outfits and their families wearing equally their best clothes, she felt sick.  
She didn't even have a family.  
She was almost alone meaning in the family section.  
She didn't have a father which she could talk to or lean into or who could hold her.  
She didn't have a mother who loved her.  
She didn't have a brother or a sister who carried her.  
She felt tears burn her eyes.  
Deep down, she was jealous of all of this stupid people she was watching in front of her eyes.  
They had something she didn't have.  
A family.  
And oh, how family is needed.  
Even if she was fine on her own, even if she could live on her own. Everyone needs a family.  
With Otis by her side, for the first time in ages, she didn't feel alone. She felt home. Like Otis was her home. Expensive champagne was carried by the waitress and employees here and there.  
The castle inside was warm.  
The walls were stone, and the warmth was present.  
It was beautiful. But she didn't have time for this nonsense. Castles, dresses, ladies and gentlemen... Life was not a fairytale. Besides, it was a rather chilling night outside.   
Maeve closed her eyes for a moment.  
She couldn't even move properly on this stupid dress she was wearing and these heels she had on.  
The vintage dress of Maeve was soft, the material it was made of was as soft as a caress, and, the dress of a dark blue, with a gorgeous skirt of that fell from the tight small waist to her knees. The sleeves of the dress were so small, it appeared the dress didn't even have them. It suited her. 

Maeve looked at the glass of drink she was holding on her hand, that she had in from the table for like half and hour, just half of the way, and she returned it to the table, leaving it there.  
There were hundreds of people. They were on the main hall, the stairs and even the corridor, of the castle. Their conversations and their laughs were heard in the space of the big spaces of the castle, and they are vibrant on Maeve's head. Forgetting about the outside temperature, which was a little cold this night, still leaving traces of a rainy week, but the atmosphere inside the small castle was charged, like the guests were consuming all of the oxygen. 

So when Maeve came to the front door, it was the most natural thing in the world to turn the door and go out into the dark night.


	2. Chapter 2

Otis let out another breath, as he crossed his hands in front of him.  
He was tired.  
He was bored.  
He wasn't even motivated.  
His thoughts were on other matters. Other people.  
Maeve...  
The mere thought of her name hurt beyond compare and made him feel more alive than ever.   
Her name on his head and his heart felt happy and sad and he was still trying to understand how was that possible.  
He hadn't talked to her in weeks.  
He tried everything he could, but nothing.  
His heart felt weary.  
His lungs heavy.  
He wanted her. He loved her.  
Otis hoped that after his phone message where he had poured his heart out, Maeve would answer him. But no answer came back. Nothing but coldness and emptiness on her part.  
That broke his heart. He was still trying to go on. Go on without her... Something inside his heart turned to that thought and he did what he could to stop the emotion he felt. Maeve... He would do anything for her. Oh, he wished it was not too late. If only she would give him a chance...  
Otis regretted going to this party tonight. He wanted to stay on his house, lay in bed and close his eyes. Even Eric had told him he had to cheer up. His best friend had been so worried for him. Eric had come to the party too, with his family, and he had meet with Adam. Ola had come too with her father, Jakob. She had met with Lily here, too. While Jean and Jakob and Eric's family talked, Eric, Ola, Adam and Lily, had stayed with Otis, trying to make a conversation in which Otis didn't particularly participated too much. He felt how they tried to make him feel better, tried to distract him, but didn't work so much. Otis didn't want them to have a boring night because of him, so he told them to go and dance and have a drink. They refused at first, but they agreed at last, when Otis told them he would be fine. So, here he was, at a party, that look rich and elegant, when he didn't even want to come. But his mother had insisted in him coming to this party.  
It is a special occasion, she said.  
He couldn't care less, anyway.  
He had agreed just to make his mother happy.  
After all that has happened lately, he didn't want to upset her.  
Or the baby...  
It had been a shock. A huge shock. An enormous shock.  
Otis didn't even know what to think of it.  
He was sure that was the last thing on his mind that her mother was going to tell him when Jean asked to talk to him a few weeks ago.  
He was shocked. And surprised. He couldn't even explain what was he feeling.  
He remembered how, like an idiot, with the shock still on his mind and body, as he asked who was the father. That made Jean laugh quietly, and then she said that Jakob, of course. Otis nodded. But one thing he knew, is that he was going to support and be there for his mother, whatever she decided.  
His relationship with his mother was better now. They have got closer. Jean had talked with Jakob and they have got closer, for the baby, they said, they were friends.  
Otis didn't know how things were going to be.  
Ola had been supportive of her father as well.  
Still, a baby, was a chance.Was something more.  
So here they were, tonight, on this cute small castle, celebrating whatever they were supposed to celebrate.  
Jean went with her son and Jakob with Ola.  
Otis looked at her mother and Jakob. They were next to him, talking. They seem to be calm, so he supposed that was a good signal.  
Ola had went with Lily to dance and Otis hadn't seen them for a while.  
He turned his head, as he looked to his mother and Jakob talking next to him. They seem to be calm, which he supposed was a good signal.  
He leaned in his chair more.  
He wanted to go but he didn't want to bother his mother.  
He closed his eyes and remembered when he had seen Maeve earlier tonight.  
He saw her when she was ordering a drink.  
She was gorgeous in her dress and heels.  
She was a vision.  
As beautiful as ever.  
A dream. A beautiful dream. She was everything he wished for. He couldn't help but stare at her, in adoration.  
From the distance, he saw her chewing her lip as she waited for them to prepare her glass.  
How he wanted to kiss those lips...  
But...  
She didn't see him.  
He wanted to get closer to her but he didn't know if she would welcome him. After all, she had been avoiding and ignoring him for weeks, not matter how much he tried, so it was pretty clear she didn't want to talk to him, wanted him, or she thought that it was too late. All the options were shit.  
Otis saw Maeve as she walked by through the people, away from him. He soon felt a hole inside him.  
Some time after, he decided to walk a bit, his legs a bit unstable as he had been sitting most of the time.  
He walked through the corridor, the stairs, of the little castle, were people were laughing and talking, and then when he was going to desist, he saw her.  
He felt his heart beat faster. The emotion filled his entire body and heart. His eyes blinked a few times like butterflies.  
Otis saw Maeve coming to the main door and he saw her opening it and going into the night. 

After the stressful atmosphere, Maeve was feeling a most a weird warm insider her, that she felt inside the small cute castle, due to all the people and her feelings. So Maeve was grateful that the cold and wet air of the night, full night, hit right on her face.  
She felt shivers and moved her head to get her hair out of the way.  
A never ending view of cars occupied the way of entrance. She walked with some difficulty on her high heels through the irregular floor, she walked to the end of the building.  
Hidden in the dark, she went to the way with the light, of the moon and the stars, and the lights of the castle left behind, she went to the garden.  
It reminded her of Otis's speech. She smiled. The memory of him making her heart flutter. The small castle had a beautiful garden. The castle was open to visitors, who they paid tickets, so they had the gardens very nice, so the public could see them. There were trees, and flowers, and fountains, and more far away, a small river beyond the little forest. The air smelled of flowers and trees, and many things to say.  
She could still hear very distant the laughs of the people who were enjoying the party, but she was close to the arbor and the trees hide her. The pergola was stunning.  
She stopped on the small structure of white marmol with the ceiling decorated with little details. The construction only held the statue of a woman who dance eternally.  
The statue was smiling, as she was enjoying dancing to the cold of the full night, with a naked foot raised to the end of times. The lights of the castle and the moon and the stars, made special shadows on the statue.  
Maeve touched the pale surface of cold stone.  
The wind was gentle, softly cut with a question. 

"You don't wear a jacket, did you know?"


	3. Chapter 3

"You don't wear a jacket, did you know?" 

For some reason, she wasn't surprised to hear his voice even thought she hadn't listen to his steps. 

Maeve closed her eyes for an instant, unsure. Then she turned around. 

Otis was standing close to her, next to the stairs that lead to the statue where she was. 

When their eyes met, Maeve again felt the good shivers down her spine. 

She felt her heart beat faster.

She looked at him as he looked at her. Something appeared to hang in the air. Words unspoken between them. The need to feel each other close. 

He was so handsome, she appreciated. He was wearing a gorgeous black suit with a white shirt under it. 

His eyes, blue and bright were like sapphires in the night. 

She took a deep breath. Having him close since the last time she saw him was giving her so many emotions in her heart she thought she had buried inside her. 

But you were the one who pulled away from him when he came to her in the past few weeks, a voice in her head reminded her. 

She needed time. Time to think about herself. Time to think about all that happened. 

But she wasn't mad at him.

Maybe she should give him the chance to explain. 

A chance for him to listen at him. 

He was looking at her so lovingly. Nobody had look at her that way. 

Maybe...

He looked so good. But he also looked tired. 

And his eyes. They were two blue flames. It hurt to look at them.

She pointed out to his tuxedo that he was wearing, with an imprecise gesture. 

Before she knew what she was saying, she answered him: 

"You aren't either."

He looked surprised for a moment, that she was talking to him. His face changed. From sad, to... Was it hope?

"Yes, but the tuxedo includes a jacket, so I'm warmer than you in this cold night." He said, his voice as deep and soft as she remembered. 

Her insides trembled. This was too much. She wasn't ready. 

Then, she should have imagined the next wonderful gesture he was going to have with her. Another one.

Otis took off his jacket, evolved in rubber, like her dress was, and handed to Maeve. His impecable white shirt seemed to shine in the dark. 

She responded before she knew what she was doing.

"But now you'll be cold." Maeve protested, without grabbing his jacket. 

Otis smiled. 

"I'll survive." He said, still smiling. 

Oh, his smile. She liked it so much. She loved it.

After a moment of doubt, she accepted it. As she had imagined, the clothing conserved the warm of his body and the smell of his cologne. 

She felt dizzy.

"You're beautiful." He told her. Otis's eyes looked up and down her. "It suits you." 

He called me beautiful, she thought. She felt herself blush at his intense stare. She was often surprised how she felt like that with him when nobody else had reached those limits for her. She felt at his mercy. Her heart fluttered. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. 

He seemed to see her movement and she saw his adam apple move.

She wondered how he look different. He look more sure of himself. More determined. Less embarrassed. More confident. Less unsure. 

She found herself liking his new confidence much more than she would allowed herself to enjoy.

"Thank you." She answered. Maeve touched her hair with nervousness. "You're not so bad yourself."

Damn it, she thought. I'm so weak, she scolded herself.

He looked up at her, surprised at her last comment. She saw him softly smile at her. 

Why his eyes and his smile had to look that good that the only thing that she wanted to do was cross the distance between them and be in his arms?

She might as well just fell on her knees and tell him that she wanted to be with him.

It seems as they had run out of safe topics; an awkward silence fell between them. 

His gaze on her made her feel alive and better than she felt in weeks.

Maeve leaned her weight on one of her exquisite heels and touched with the tip of her other foot the little stones on the land at her feet. 

Without stopping looking at her, Otis leaned against a stone column. 

"What are you doing outside with this cold of this night, Maeve?" He asked with gentle voice. 

You know it. If you didn't know, you wouldn't be here, she thought. 

"I don't know...I guess I needed some fresh air." She said. 

Her walls threatened to rise again.

Her eyes challenged him, "And what are you doing here?" She asked him. 

Otis tensed his back. Then he said in low voice:

"I followed you."


	4. Chapter 4

"I followed you." 

Otis said answered her in low voice. 

Maeve's breath was caught in her throat. It was hard to breath properly. 

"Why?" She asked. Still out of breath, like she had just run a marathon. 

Maeve asked the question in a whisper. 

She wasn't sure what she was asking but he seemed to understand. 

She thought as she looked to him that Otis's eyes appeared to tinkle, like little stars. His eyes always been so expressive. Vulnerable and beautiful. 

"The heart has reasons for which the mind cannot understand."

Otis said the sentence very fast. 

Her lips opened. 

No, she sure listened wrong. 

Their conversation was turning into a precipice and she was going to invent some wings to not to fall. 

Maeve moved her head to the sides. 

"I didn't understand. What... What do you mean?" 

However, when Otis's eyes locked with hers, Maeve read in them the answer. 

"It means that I want to be with you. That I can't stop thinking about you." He said. His eyes closed for a second. She could listen to the passion in his voice. His breathing had gotten faster, too. 

His hands grabbed the column behind him, as he was trying to fight to keep standing. 

"I've tried everything I thought of, but you are still on my head..." He continued. 

She counted her breathing. Two breaths out, one breath taken. One breath taken, one let out. 

He touched his chest with his hand. It seemed as he physically felt what he was saying. 

"And in my heart, too, Maeve. Not only in my mind. In my heart." His voice was hoarse. 

Her head was spinning. This was really happening? She was afraid that she had mistaken from moment, from country, even from planet. 

But no, this was not a dream, this was real. This was happening. 

He had made this step. 

She felt she owned him some honesty. He was being so sincere, so open with her. She remembered of how all the times she had just lashed out at him. Or when he tried to talk to her, or ask her, or advice her, she just jumped at him. She really had to grow in this. Mature in this. Allowed him to come in. It was okay to do it. She understands this now. 

Maeve realized that Otis never meant to hurt her in purpose and she knows Otis is authentic and does not hide emotions. She knows that she herself has a very high wall built around herself to insulate her and to hide emotions, and to protect herself from the scorn she perceives from being from a lower economic and social class. She knows that she has been a person who doesn't express her feelings to other people, verbally and not verbally and through her face properly too, so that she could appear strong and seems to does not get affected kind of person.

But she had to grow. She had to take a chance with him. She had to mature in this. She had to trust him. She should give herself a chance to be happy, with him. To allow him to come in. To allow him to heal her. To allow him to be in her light, and to light her up. And this was fine. She sees this now. 

"I... I think about you too." Maeve could hardly listen to her own voice, drowned by the loudness of her heart, "but..." 

She saw his face light up, showing hope and love for her.

Without helping it, her thoughts came back to his phone text meassge that afternoon, to the party that night.

For the shinning in Otis's eyes, she understood he knew perfectly what she was thinking. 

"I know I screwed up. I made mistakes. I made some stupidity. A few of them. But... People change, Maeve." 

He was talking in passionate tone, "They learn. We learn. If it wasn't like that, what meaning would pretty much everything have?" 

His arms opened as he continued talking. 

"What meaning would life have? You have changed in all this time; I've seen it. Well, I've changed too. I'm telling you now. And I'm sorry what I did and said that night, and that afternoon. At the stupid party, in the stupid message." 

His hands went briefly to his hair. Then he lowered them and opened them in front of him. His voice was passionate, almost desesperate. 

"I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I'm so sorry about what I said. The message...I wasn't thinking clearly. I truly didn't mean that. I was stupid. I'm sorry. I actually had written a first message telling you that I was confused and that I wanted to talk to you, but then what happened with my dad that day, and all of that put me back with all what happened with my father and my mother... Probably you don't understand, what I did. Hell, I myself don't fully understand. I'm sorry. It was stupid. The reason I thought is...I sent that message...Because of my father and what happened in my life. But I didn't want to be like him. Like my father. I wanted to be a good person. I wanted to put others before myself. I wanted to do the right things. I didn't want to cheat. I didn't want to hurt anybody that I was with or put the other person in the relationship in that position of when you're cheated on. And all of that of my father and my feelings for you reminded me of all." 

His eyes searched for hers. His eyes were a window to his soul. She couldn't stop staring at him. Her heart beating fast. Her mind working in quick speed, processing and trying to understand at the same time his words. 

"My father cheated on my mother and when I was a little kid, I caught him having sex with another woman, and I, I told my mother about it. If it wasn't for me, nobody would have known... And my dad wouldn't have left my mother, he wouldn't have abandoned me, he wouldn't have leave me and my mom...We were left alone. He moved to America and went into a relationship with a woman and kids... And the other day, I went on this camping with him and Eric and all turned out a mess, my dad had sex with the receptionist and I found out he had been dumped, this woman he was with left him because he was a cheater and had sex with other woman while being with her, so she left him because he was a cheater and...My father tried to lie me about this, that day. He also tried to make himself a victim." 

Otis took a deep breath, his voice coming out strangled as he continued speaking. " So, and I wanted to be a good boyfriend, I wanted to be a good guy who doesn't cheat or lie to my girlfriend. I didn't want to be like my father. I suffered that. My mother suffered that. And that's because I sent the stupid text message. I didn't want to be as stupid as my father. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was being a good person and that was a stupid move. I'm sorry. I'm telling you now. I was stupid. It was a mistake. I didn't want anybody get hurt because of me. I realized that I was always thinking of putting everyone else above me." 

Otis made a pause. He took a deep breath. He blinked a few times. His voice was shaking. Then, he looked at her. 

Maeve felt her heart beat so fast under her ribs. She felt it on her throat. She stayed silent, listening to his words, stunned. 

"I'm so sorry about the party. I'm so sorry that I told that like that with everyone else there, in front of all those people. I shouldn't have said anything in front of people. That was wrong. It was stupid. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry. My heart was broken. I was hurting so bad. I was so drunk, and I know it's not an excuse. I saw you with that dude, dancing and being cozy with him right in my face... And I wanted you to talk to me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I shouldn't have said that out loud in front of all the people, that was wrong of me. It was stupid. I was stupid. I apologize. I'm sorry, Maeve, and I don't know what else to say..."

His voice cracked. 

"If there was some way to undone it..." Otis keep saying. His voiced was quivering. 

Maeve looked up and he saw he had tears in his eyes.

"I would do anything. I would give anything..." Otis said. A single tear run down his cheek. 

She felt hurt at seeing him cry. She didn't want him to cry. She could see he was in pain. 

"I am sorry. I was wrong. Those were stupid things that I did. Mistakes. I apologize. But I'm trying here. I want you to know how proud of you I am. And how unbelievable stupid I've been."

"Maeve..." He whispered again. As delicate as a rain drop. His voice was cracking. He was looking at her and his eyes were swimming in tears, and she just wanted to grap her arms around his taller frame so he would stop shaking. 

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry." Otis said.

"No." 

At first, she wasn't sure if that word had actually come out of her mouth, but apparently she said it out loud. 


	5. Chapter 5

"No."

At first, she wasn't sure if that word had actually come out of her mouth, but apparently she said it out loud. 

There was a silence.

"I see..." His voice was only a broken whisper. 

She felt his heart end up in the land between them. His face showed such agony. His eyes were full of tears. She saw his bottom lip quivering. 

He looked at her with such sad expression on his face. His eyes were bright with tears. 

She felt her throat close as she tried to breath properly. She wanted to grap her arms around him and kiss him and lay her head on his chest as he hold her. She wanted to feel his heart beating against hers.

She saw his face fell. She saw his lips trembling. She realized he had misunderstood what she meant. 

"No, Otis, I meant that I understand. I understand you. And it's okay. It's not only your fault, but mine too. I want to apologize too. I was wrong too. I made mistakes too. I was stupid too. And I'm sorry." 

Otis's eyebrows lifted. She could see his cheeks wet from his tears. His mouth opened at her words. A breath left his lips. She wished she could feel it on her own skin. 

"It's not fair putting all the blame on you. That's not true. I am to blame in this whole mess, too. I was wrong. I made mistakes. I was stupid. I messed up. And you were right. I was selfish. I was. I'm not afraid to admit that because it's true. You were right. I messed up with you. I made mistakes too. " She continued saying. 

Otis opened his mouth to talk, possibly to reassure her, to deny her, to be the sweetheart that he was, but she raised her hand silence him. 

She needed to say this. He had opened something in her and she wanted to be honest with him. Too much time had passed with them being stupid around each other, it was time to fix things, fight for them, be open with each other, get together all in all. 

Because heavens help her, deep down she knew she wanted to be with him. 

For the first time in ages, since she could remember, she didn't feel alone with him by her side. He made her better and she made him better. 

They were two sides of the same coin. Two souls almost in one. Almost like one person. And if they were united, they would be a union, and they could take care of each other, make each other happy. A rare profound love that run deep, so deep. It was so special. So amazing, so incredible, so wonderful. It was a love that had to be treated with care, had to be protected. 

She continued talking. Looked at him as he looked at her with big eyes as he was astounded by her words. Her tone, calm and gentle, caressed the space between them. She deposed her trust in him. 

"Let me say this. I am equally to blame as you are. And it is not fair to put all the blame in you because we both know it is not true. I was stupid too. I made mistakes too. A whole bunch of them. I was selfish. I hurt you. Sometimes I even had a wrong stupid attitude towards you when you were only trying to help me. I messed up just as much. We are both equally to blame. We both fucked up. Your mistakes were easy to see, they were open, but mine were also there." Maeve finished telling him. 

" Let's just forgive each other. " Otis told her. His voice was gentle and warm and he briefly smiled.

Yeah! That's the best idea she had heard in days. Oh, this was really happening! What she wanted! And he wanted too! And this was real!

She tried not to appear to happy and relieved, but she didn't want to pretend anymore. Besides, for the first time their conversation had started, he appeared to be happy and hopeful. Just as she was. They both were. 

She felt so good inside just from the sight of his little smile that she couldn't help but lightly chuckle. 

" Yeah, I guess we both would win." She answered, the corner of her mouth raised in her smile as her voice told him in a sweet tone, she realized Otis could only get out of herself. 

"Good." He smiled. His new confidence was so contagious, it was even... Sexy. She took a deep breath, she wanted to jump his bones and kiss him senseless, and be with him, forever and always.

"I missed you, Otis." She blurted out. 


	6. Chapter 6

"I missed you, Otis." Maeve blurted out.

Otis's face relaxed. He wiped his wet cheeks with his hands and closed his eyes a second before returning to look at Maeve, never breaking their eye contact.

"I missed you, too, Maeve." Otis smiled.

She smiled back. A real smile for the first time in days. One that Otis could bring to her face. She felt good. 

"Remember when we first see each other again in the hall of school? You told me you've missed me and I closed myself again and I were rude to you, when in reality what I really wanted to say is that I missed you too. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough. I'm sorry I lashed at you. You didn't deserve it. " Maeve confessed. 

Otis nodded. " It's okay, Maeve." 

Oh, he was just so nice and lovable! Damn him! 

Since what happened with her mother and her sister, and somehow since she lost Otis too, she had been in a very low point, feeling so alone and sad. But things were going to change at least with Otis, she felt it. 

"Thank you for apologizing to me, Otis." Maeve told him.

"It was the least I could do." Otis answered. His voice cracked a little with emotion. 

There was a comfortable silence. Different from before.

Otis's eyes were so bright, shinning with tears. He was looking at her as if she was the most precious thing, as if she was worthy of everything. For the first time in her life, she thought that maybe things could go right for one time. 

"Maeve, you're great. Hear me out. You're kind, you're brave, you're so smart, you work so hard working, you're so strong, intelligent. You help people, you care for people. You don't ask for anything in return when you help people, even those who doesn't deserve it. You are so much better and deserve so much better. Good things have to happen to you from now on. And I want to be here for you, to support you, if you let me. " His voice was so gentle, so soft and his eyes so honest as he looked at her. His hand was raised in the air as he seemed to put more weight on his words for her to believe it.

She felt so warm inside. The time for honesty had arrived. She had to tell him, " And you're so kind to everyone. Not matter what. You are the most selfless person I've ever met. You always speak nice to everyone. You always put others first of yourself. You always help and care for others before yourself. You are so generous to almost gave yourself in the process. And I'm sorry I didn't fully see that earlier or before. But you are. You are a good great person, Otis. In fact, you're the best person I know." 

She saw him blush and she smiled. It felt good to smile. She hasn't smiled for days now. Her life crumbling after the second parting of her mother and the parting of her little sister who she had grown to adore and love, was such a hard thing she had to go through. She had been devastated and somehow she had to tell herself she had to move on, she had to go on, cotnonue as she always had, survive, and that she had done the right thing. And if Otis was to be by her side now would make her heal better in this process of her broken family and that she wasn't alone anymore. 

"You make me a better person." She said.

"As you make me a better person too. I've told you before in that letter I sent you, that you saw me, that when I met you, you make me see that there was so much more in me. Until you took my hand and taught me that I was good in things. You taught me so much. You make me better. You're the strongest person I've ever met. You're the smartest person I've ever met. And I want to give you everything I can and you deserve. " He said. His voice so beautiful, his eyes so gorgeous, his words so precious. 

Oh! It always felt so nice when Otis complimented her. He had done it so many times, more than she did actually, and he was telling all of those things to her. She never thanked him for the letter, or talked or asked him about it. She felt regret and guilty for that, too. He had reached to her. But now it was going to be different. Now she was going to accept his amends and take his hand. She needed him. And she had fell so hard for him. 

"Thank you for that beautiful letter. Thank you for the perfect gift for my birthday. I never thanked you and those details you had for me were just perfect and made me feel so special and good. And they meant a lot to me. And even you giving me your jumper that night. Or when you waited for hours to me and then went with me home that day with all the abortion thing. You were the first person to ever take care of me, support me, be there for me, care for me. Thank you, it meant the world to me. I'm sorry I didn't show you then,hiw I should have. " Maeve told him. Her voice was gentle and soft. Her eyes on him. 

"And then. I was hurt by what happened with you at that party, and with the message. And I was disappointed. With you. Because I felt I trusted you and opened up myself with you, in ways I didn't do with anyone else before. Because for the first time, I let my walls which so hard I've raised over the years, fell with you as I did with no one before. And I felt that all of that kind of blew in my face. And I, I felt sad and disappointed with you." Maeve said. 

She continued, " And the party. It hurt. And I was sad about what happened at the party with you. But deep down I only wanted to forgive you, after hearing your apologies. And you did apologize to me, more than once. Deep down, I now realize that you were right in what you said. Yes, as you said, the ways of saying the things were wrong and stupid, and what hurt me the most, as you said, and was the wrong thing is to tell in front of all those people. But I forgive you." Maeve said. 

" I forgive you. Of course I do. We have to move on from that pain for both of us. And now I understand better. I understand you better. I understand everything. I understand what you were dealing with. I understand why. I understand that you never meant any harm to me. I understand everything. And I was wrong too. I made mistakes too. And we were both stupid. We were both wrong. I don't want to think about the past and the time wasted more. I'm hoping for the future now. " She told him. 

"We were both made mistakes. And while yours were more pronounced, I see you're making amends for it. And you have done so many good things for me in the past. And of course it's possible for you to make up for it. And you deserve all the happiness, Otis, truly." Maeve told him.

She took a deep breath. She was less nervous than before. She felt a warm feeling spreading all over her body. 

" Thank you, Maeve. It means a lot to me." He wiped his tears. 

" Thank you for forgiving me and for understanding. And yes, I hope for the future too. With you. " He said. 

He made another step towards her. 

"Thank you, Otis. " Maeve replied simply. 

"Look at us, talking." He let out a soft chuckle and she felt her heart jump in her chest at the sound. 

"Yeah, it's nice." She replied, a small smile on her lips. 

He continued to look at her. He seemed to have more things to say. 

The night was quite. The wind quietly blew in the trees. The sound of the water felt comfortable. The crickets were singing. 

Then, he talked again. 

"You telling me you had feelings for me was all I wanted to hear and I was so caught up in trying to do the right thing, I lost track of that actually is... Is you. It's always been you." Otis told her. His voice was deep and his eyes were clear. His body seemed to gravitate towards her. 

Maeve's heart did weird things in her chest. Otis's words... Otis's words! Maeve let herself fly in his words, felt as something in her chest expand, then a pleasant vibration set in all of her body. She felt more alive for the first time in a while, and the feeling took her by surprise but she wanted to hold it. She felt such gladness, such great, that she wanted to hug him to her and stop talking already. Kiss him. Made him hers. And him making her his. 

Her eyes opened. Her mouth too. A sob escaped her, but it was from joy. 

"I hope it is not too late." He added. 

But of course it was not! His words were silly and sweet. But really... It is never too late. Because they were alive. There was nothing that could separate them. The only thing that could, sadly, was themselves being stupid. And it was time they decide to stop being that and take each others hands, because they had something to fight for, to protect it, to stay and be together. And meant to be. 

She loved him. She wanted him. 

Yes, she couldn't deny it anymore. She accepted it. 

She had fell for him. How could she not? She loved him. 

She had to tell him. He had been so brave with her. She was not to be a fucking coward and stupid and lie to him or push her away denying her feelings for him. He gave that step and she was going to follow with it.

The urge to touch him, to caress his cheek, to feel him, was starting to feel physically on Maeve.

Suddenly, she stopped caring what happened, her faults, his faults, their both mistakes, the events, the things that they have been through, or anything else. She had been spending so much time worrying about so much that she realized that there weren't any problems at all with them. And everything could be fixed. And that they could be together. 

It wasn't time already to start thinking in what she wanted? 

So, why couldn't she be with Otis? 

The moment of finding out if she really truly wanted to be with Otis had arrived. 

He seemed to want to come closer to her, touch her, stand with her, and take her in his arms.

Then, he spoke again. He took another step towards her. In his voice he could feel his heart. He looked at her like she was like his whole world. The next words he said would always be printed in her memory. 

"Please stay with me. Please be with me. I am so in love with you." Otis told her. 


	7. Chapter 7

"Please stay with me. Please be with me. I am so in love with you." Otis told her. 

Fireworks seemed to explode between them. Every emotion appeared to collapse against each other in the small space between them. Time seemed to stop.

"I love you, Maeve." He repeated.

"I hope it's not too late." He continued. 

Otis's beautiful declaration of love to her hang in the air between them. She was still trying to process it. 

She fully didn't realize until now that with the several steps he had took before, he was near her, a gap only separated them. His eyes, full of love, were on hers and he looked emotional. His face showed such love for her. 

Otis had told her he loved her. He loved her. He was in love with her. 

She couldn't register all the emotions she felt. So many, from love, relief, hope, want, happiness from Otis's words. Her mind repeatedly remembering Otis's declaration of love to her. He had just told her he was in love with her. That he loved her. And he was looking at her with so much love. Her heart was beating so fast, the blood in her veins dancing. The dance of life. 

And, she loved him. She loved him back.

Her heart about to burst from all the love she felt for him.

"Oh my..." She let the words slip out of her mouth. Her hands lifted to her face and touched her hair, fearing she was dreaming. But no. This was real. She blinked. She could feel her heart on her throat. This was really happening. Right here. Right now. Finally. Otis... Otis was there telling her all of those things. He loved her. He was in love with her. Otis who he continued to look at her as if she was the most precious girl in the world. Otis, her Otis. Yes, her Otis. And she loved him too! 

His voice cracked a little with emotion as he talked again, his eyes slightly tearful. His eyes full of love, clear, for her to read it in then. He made a move to try to made another step toward her, raising his arm appearing to want to touch her and take her hand or her cheek. 

He loved her. 

She wasn't sure what Otis was doing, as she was busy trying not to pass out from joy. Her heart seemed to burst from all the love and joy she was feeling for him right now. He stopped as if he wanted her to make the move before she was completely sure of it. Maybe she should say something. So far she was still stunned. 

She should say she loved him. She should say she loved him too. The truth was that she had fell for him too. Because of course she loved him. She loved him like nobody else. 

She needed to find her voice again before she could speak she looked at him in a look she was sure she had put every dose of love for him, as she always had, really, in every cell of her body. 

"I know. I know. I shouldn't have waited to now to say this. But I love you, so much. Well, I did say it on the voicemail on your phone the day of the championship and no answer of your part came to me, I thought that what I said repulsed you and I was devastated when you wouldn't talk to me, called me back, see me, I tried everything I could, I tried so hard." He told her. 

" But... Before.. To wait to tell you that I love you. That I'm so in love with you, completely. Waiting, that was stupid. I just, waiting was stupid. But I told you before, in that voice message that day. I went to your caravan to tell you in person. And I'm telling now again, okay? I told you that day in the voice message, and I tell you today too. I love you." Otis said. 

"I..." Words failed her. Something that Otis said caught her attention. Voice message.... He coming to her caravan.... The day of the championship...He left her a message telling her he loved her... But... She didn't listen at any message... She didn't have anything. Did she? How odd. But oh anyway, she was so happy with this! Otis, her darling Otis, was telling her all she wanted to hear! Maybe there was some hope for them after all. It was time for them to be together. They wasted so much time already being silly. It was time to fight. To take a chance. To not let something as special as what they had go to waste. 

"It's you. It's always been you." He continued telling her.

"I love you, Maeve." Otis told her.

"And Maeve, dare I hope? It's not late. Please let's be together. I love you, very much. I love you since I can remember. Stay with me. Be with me. I'm hoping you love me too...If there was a way to undone it, to fix it, things, I would do anything, I would give anything, everything. Maeve, tell me..." He asked. 

Of course she loved him. She loved him with all her heart. She loved him more than she even thought possible of loving someone. She loved him so much. She have been loving him a while, and each day she loved him even more if it is possible. 

The moment had arrived. The moment to decide if she really wanted to be with him. 

Otis cared for her. 

Otis loved her.

Otis wanted her. 

So she suddenly stop caring about people, or the messages, or the party, or anything else. She had spent so many time worrying about people's feelings, what other people wanted. It wasn't time already to star thinking in what she wanted? In what Otis seemed to want too? So, why couldn't she be with Otis? He cared about her. He cared for her. He loved her. 

He had told her he loved her. 

If there was some way to undone it, if there was some way to turn back time, he had said. 

She loved him.

"You can undone it." Said Maeve, suddenly. 

Otis stared at her with open surprise. 

"We can undone it. We can fix it." Maeve finished saying.

"I felt, feel, awful. That is so not how I wanted things to end between us. What was I doing? I should have fought more. I should have listened at you before. I should have let you a chance to explain. It's just, I wasn't expecting to see you then and now. And all of sudden, you're there, and saying these things. And... I was just thinking there thinking, still I am, thinking of all the stuff I should have said and I didn't. I mean, I didn't even get to tell you that I love you too." 

She knew she loved him, truly so much, and she would never run away from it again.

Maeve saw Otis opening his mouth, his body going back and forward, his hand touched his nose, his tongue wetting his lip, his eyes closing and then opening. She hear him gasp. His eyes were glassy. His love for her was written in his face. And she was sure she had the same expression on her face, her love for him. 

"Because of course I do. I love you." She finally confessed to him. "I love you. I love you. And I love you, Otis. I truly love you, so very much. " She continued saying, now feeling her own tears of joy for the moment coming to her eyes. But it was okay. They were happy tears. For the first time in her life, they were happy tears. This moment that was happening was so special. She would remember it forever. Treasure it. 

"I love you, Otis." Maeve finished telling him. 

At her last word, she felt a huge weight leave her chest, her shoulders and she knew she had done the right thing. Of course she had, this was Otis, who she loved, and whom he loved her, who he took care for her, who he had helped her, who he had always been there for her. He saw her as she truly was, he saw her as nobody else had done it before. 

"My voice message where I told you how sorry I was, how stupid I was, and how I was so worried about doing the right thing. That it was you. And that it's always been you and that I love you. You didn't listen at it?" He asked, breaking the silence.

"No, I did not. I didn't listen at it. I didn't have it. I didn't even know it was one. If I would have known... " She answered him. 

Otis' s expression changed, then he smiled then, a sad smile. "I told Isaac to tell you." His voice fade away. 

Maeve crossed her fingers in her hands, her mind putting 2+ 2 together and the pieces of the puzzle made a connection. The revelation crushing inside her, same as Otis seemed to had just seconds before. 

No...

"He... He deleted it." Her voice was low and weak. She put voice to the exact same thoughts she knew he was having in his head. 

Otis didn't say anything, only nodded, still smiling sadly and lovingly at her. His eyes so full of love for her. Maeve felt so terrible, he must have suffered a lot in all these past weeks of her silence, thinking she actually listened to her message and didn't want to answer at him. The pain he must have felt...She remneber his face sad, tired and broken all these past weeks. And when she refused to talk to him, see him, in the last few days... His pain. Her poor Otis. And she herself, wouldn't have been through such disappointment and hurt if she knew the truth, if she knew about his voice message, if she knew about Isaac, and actually listened at Otis and what he had to tell her. 

And to think she actually trusted Isaac. She felt disgusted. Betrayed. What a mistake! She was going to tell him a few things and set him straight. An kick him out of her life. Oh he was going to hear her out. How dare he! What an idiot! 

The horrible truth was open in front of them. And they understood what, in almost certainly, happened. All the suffering, all the pain, they both went through these last few weeks... If only they have known about it. But since today, no more things were going to come between them because they would be united to fight them all. As they should. 

It was time. Everything have been said. 

But she wasn't going to let the idiot of Isaac mess her moment with Otis. This moment, right here, right now, was too precious for anyone to destroy it. So when Maeve understood this, she smiled. 

She smiled at him. Their eyes met again. 

She cared for Otis. She loved Otis. She wanted Otis.

And Otis loved her. Otis cared for her. Otis wanted her. 

They loved each other.

Everything was clear. 

"You can undone it." Maeve said again suddenly. "WE can undone it." She finished. 

Otis kept staring at her with open surprise reflected in his face. 

Fearing to change her mind, Maeve walked and crossed the small distance that was between them and went to stand before Otis. 

As she walked, his jacket fell from her shoulders to lay on the land.


	8. Chapter 8

"WE can undone it." Maeve told Otis. 

She walked the small distance that separates them where Otis had stopped right near her and stood before him.

The anticipation was killing her. And he looked the same way. 

His face was so full of love for her.

She knew this was right. 

Maeve read insecurity in Otis's eyes as if he couldn't actually believe what was happening.

She raised her head and caressed the outline of his lips with the tips of her fingers. Otis closed his eyes.

Then Maeve circled her hands behind his neck and pulled him to her.

Her mouth met his. Her lips met his.

Maeve thought of how his lips were soft and sure.

She wasn't going to back out. So, instead of backing out, she pressed against him even more. She kissed him with all, letting out all of her feelings.

The kiss that began hesitant gained impulse when Otis understood that Maeve was serious about it.

He slipped his hands against the rubber of her dress to take her for the waist. When he saw she didn't move back, he pulled her against him tightly.

He kissed her gently at first and then, as if he’s reaching for something more, he pushed her against him and kissed her harder.

His lips are warm and so soft.

His hands dropped to her waist. 

The first seconds of uncertainty, soon broke into passion and pent up feelings that finally broke free. They kissed, pouring everything into that kiss. 

When Maeve opened her lips, Otis moaned softly.

The tension left the body of Maeve, who let herself be wrapped by the tense arms of him.

They were so close that she could feel in her own chest the heartbeat of Otis.

Maeve poured all her loneliness into the kiss. The pain she had been through. Her own feeling of guilt. The long nights with no one to talk. The desire that his body inspired in her. As if he realized, Otis took her by the nape to kiss her with more passion.

Panting against his lips, Maeve tangled her fingers in the soft waves of his hair. She felt a rush of electricity run throught her when she touched his hair and pulled at it. The reaction of Otis as she did it her caress, his renewed burning of the kiss, his arms around her, his body into hers. 

Otis's body radiated heat, like a fever; Maeve no longer felt cold. She was not alone. This felt so right. 

They never wanted to let go. 

They pulled apart their faces, gasping for breath. 

But just lasted for a second. 

He kissed her. He kissed her again. His lips meeting hers. His mouth meeting his.

He was still holding on her waist. 

Her hand reached his cheek and she cradled it lovingly as her other hand circled his shoulders. He responded at the same time, as one of his hands circled her neck and the other wrapped around her waist.

And she kissed him back. She wanted him so much. She moved her lips against his, wanting more. He stepped closer, their bodies touching, then his other hand came up, the warm fingers grasping her waist, pulling her even closer still.

She is lost in his kiss, and all her defenses give way before this hot, hungry, beautiful, mystery that lies between us.

Otis was holding her so beautifully. Maeve hugged him close to her. 

She loved how he took care for cared for her, supported her, believed in her. He had been the very first person with her to do all of those things. 

Otis's lips moved across the skin of her face until reaching her ear and from there to her neck.

Almost out of breath, Maeve head back to feel him against her. 

Otis's lips were like butterflies on the skin of her neck. 

He kissed her neck. The skin of her neck burning where his lips made contact with her skin as he caressed her.

After his neck kisses, his lips brushed against her skin, very close to her earlobe again. 

She touched his neck, caressed it, then took his face between her hands as they looked into each other's eyes.

His face was in her hands as she held his it and they looked into their eyes, connecting their souls.

Still without breaking apart their bodies, both pressed, they smiled. 

They smiled to each other. No barriers. Just them. Fully aware of everything and their love. 

Her walls had crumbled; she knew he could see there, in her eyes, the desperation, the relief, the love, that had punched through her defenses. 

Then, they kissed again. Reaching into each other at the same time.

She didn’t know if she leaned into him first or if he pulled her toward him. Maybe both. They crashed together like stars colliding, and then he was kissing her. Otis. Kissing her.

And she kissed him. She kissed him letting it out everything, with all the love she felt for him.

She couldn't describe the happiness, the relief and the absolute love she was feeling for him right now. 

For the first time she wasn't alone. 

This felt so right. 

She wanted to be with him. 

And what thrilled her to the core is that he wanted to be with her too.

And it felt good, so good, to be loved and wanted, by Otis.

At that moment, a soft, delicate tickle, like ice feathers on her face, distracted her.

Opening her eyes, she saw the single little drops of water fluttering in the dark and she gave a little cry, "It's raining!"

Without separating, they both looked up.

That infinity of soft rain, little drops, like dew, that fell from the night sky.

The world was silent around them, a pleasant quite.

"It's a sign," Otis said. 

A few mischievous drops had settled on his lashes and his white teeth gleamed as he smiled.

"A sign of what?" She asked him. 

Maeve wondered if she from the outside seemed as happy as him. His smile was so bright.

His eyes so full of love for her.

All she could see in his beautiful blue eyes, that were like sapphires in the night, was love and they were so warm for her. 

She understood that she seemed happy too, just like him. Her face opened into a smile. 

They belong together. 

She cracked a smile.

Then, Otis answered her question. 

"That this is right." Otis said. 


End file.
